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~ Wijnand Jongen ~

administrative borders and burdens. Currently, a business
must file an average of 13 documents to complete one VAT
registration process, wait for 100 days on average to receive
a VAT number, submit up to 60 VAT & statistical filings per
country yearly, and spend thousands of Euros in compliance
costs.

The importance of this matter to European businesses,
particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is
also highlighted in a dedicated campaign on this topic that GET INVOLVED!
we launched to raise awareness of the need for this reform: How do we ensure that the OSS will be extended? With the EU Commission’s
https://simplify-vat.eu/. VAT in the Digital Age initiative, there is now a significant opportunity to
build on the 1 July 2021 reforms by expanding the OSS. Ecommerce Europe
The solution for all is working to make the voice of its 150,000 companies heard. Visit www.
To address these shortcomings, the One Stop Shop should simplify-vat.eu for more information.
be extended to all shipments of merchandise where the seller
of record is not located in the EU country of taxation, and in Do not hesitate to reach out to Ecommerce Europe for more information on
particular to: future regulations and on how to get involved
([email protected])!
1. cross-border movement of own inventory across the
EU,
2. domestic sales from distribution hubs by a seller that
is not established in that EU country.

What are the benefits of an extended OSS?
Simplifying VAT registration and extending the VAT OSS
system in the way proposed above will have major positive
effects for companies selling goods online, as this will lower
their compliance costs and reduce administrative burdens.
Businesses would find it much easier and faster to register
and pay VAT throughout the EU, getting better access
to intra-EU trade and becoming more competitive in an
increasingly globalising and omnichannel retail environment.
With online shopping demand growing, this will greatly
help SMEs exploit the untapped e-commerce business
opportunities in the EU single market.

Furthermore, EU Member States’ tax administrations would
also benefit from improved VAT compliance and a simple
solution to ensure all cross-border goods movements can be
easily reported and audited within a single OSS scheme. This
is expected to lead to an increase in trade and, consequently,
additional VAT revenues and a more competitive market in
the EU. Ultimately, end-consumers will also be able to benefit
from a larger choice of products and more competitive prices
when shopping online. Last but not least, the advantages
of a Single VAT Registration also extend to environmental
concerns. For example, a regime covering pan-EU inventory
storage in e-commerce would encourage bulk inventory
placements close to customers. Bulk movements cause
considerably lower CO2 emissions than orders individually
shipped for long distances and also reduce the burden on
our customs authorities compared to many individual packet
shipments from third countries. ••

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